China

The great China, whose kyng is thought... the greatest prince in the worlde.

1555, Peter Martyr, translated by Richard Eden, The Decades of the Newe Worlde..., folio 230 verso:

If he tells them to build a palace forty miles long, out of di'monds, and fill it full of chewing gum, or whatever you want, and fetch an emperor's daughter from China for you to marry, they've got to do it—and they've got to do it before sun-up next morning, too.

1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:

The Commissioner General asked for Foreign Office guidance in view of his information about earlier events relating to the British claim. In reply, the Foreign Office, in a telegram dated 12 June 1956, pointed out that as there was now a territorial dispute involving the two Chinas, the Philippines and possibly Vietnam over the Nansha Islands the British vessel should ‘stay well clear’ of Spratly Island.

1987, Geoffrey Marston, “Abandonment of Territorial Claims: The Cases of Bouvet and Spratly Islands”, in The British Year Book of International Law 1986, volume 57, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 356:

After I was nominated to the vice-presidency, Ronald Reagan asked me to go to China to reassure Deng that, despite having mentioned it in a campaign speech, he did not believe in two Chinas, and that he would honor the Shanghai Communiqué—which declared, in effect, that there was but one China. Joined by his top foreign policy team, Deng listened carefully as I explained that Reagan’s statement had been taken out of context. Just as I was finishing, a door opened and a message was passed down the line of advisors until it reached Deng. On reading it, he looked puzzled and annoyed. “He did it again!” he announced. “Ronald Reagan has again referred to ‘two Chinas’ in a speech!” I talked fast and got out of there.

1998, George H. W. Bush et al., A World Transformed, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 93:

China has 5000 years of history.

A nation or civilization occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers in East Asia, taken as a whole under its various dynasties.

'Only a Nixon' Could Go to China

1971 December 6, “A Size-up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader”, in US News & World Report, page 61:

2017, Donald J. Trump, speech at Make America Great Again Rally, Harrisburg, PA
And I met with the President of China at great length in Florida, and we had long, long talks—hours and hours and hours.

China is 75 years old as of October 1, 2024

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

A large country in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers; the People's Republic of China, since 1949.

The gambling winnings were transferred from Macau to China.

(historical) Any of the empires occupying similar territory to that of the modern nation of China, ruled under various dynasties up through the early 20th century.

(historical) The Republic of China prior to 1949, and sometimes after that time, particularly up through the early 1970's or so (when the People's Republic of China assumed the United Nations seat allocated to china).

My name is China Bayles. I'm the owner of Thyme and Seasons and the co-owner, with Ruby Wilcox, of a new tearoom called Thyme for Tea.

2001, Susan Wittig Albert, chapter 1, in Bloodroot, Berkley Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 3:

'What's her name, this girl?' The fight had hoarsened Lynne's voice, and the words came out strangely staccato - a wooden doll that had just learned to speak.
'China,' he mumbled, feeling an obscure desire to invent a pseudonym for her.
'What an interesting name.'
Angus struck the table edge hard. 'Aw, don't gies it.'
'I don't know what you mean. Or is it a nickname? Fragile, is she?'

2014, Neil D. A. Stewart, The Glasgow Coma Scale, Constable & Robinson, →ISBN, page 159:

Jefferson County
Jefferson County#English

An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States.

A town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States.

An unincorporated community in Howell County, Missouri, United States.

A hamlet in Delaware County, New York, United States.

A small city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States.

A municipality and town in Nuevo León, Mexico.

en-proper noun

China (usually uncountable, plural Chinas)

Chinas (plural)
Chin (alternative)
Chyna (alternative)

Greater China

inclusive of Taiwan, non-Han autonomous regions, and the SARs but not always all Chinese claims

→ Amharic: ቻይና (čayna)

→ Chinese: 猜拿 (Cāiná)

→ Hindi: चाइना (cāinā)

→ Maori: Haina

→ Telugu: చైనా (cainā)

→ Tigre: ቻይና (čayna)

→ Tigrinya: ቻይና (čayna)

→ Tokelauan: Haina

→ Welsh: Tsieina

→ Yoruba: Ṣáínà

Чынҭ

country in East Asia — see also Serica, Cathay

Sjina

region corresponding to the People's Republic of China and Taiwan

[ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]

China (disambiguation)
Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India
Duarte Barbosa
Garcia de Orta
Marco Polo
The Travels of Marco Polo
states of ancient China

From Portuguese China, probably under influence from Old French Chin, from Classical Persian چین (čīn), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (Čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from Chinese 秦 (Qín) (sm Qín, mc d͡ziɪn, oc *zin, "Qin"), the westernmost ancient Chinese state, but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉 /晋 (jìn) (sm Jìn, mc t͡siɪn, oc *ʔsins, "Jin"), another important ancient state; 荊 /荆 (jīng) (sm Jīng, mc kˠiæŋ, oc *keŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state; or Zina, the endonym of the people of the Yelang kingdom. See "Names of China" and "Chinas" at Wikipedia. As a female name, usually derived via china (“porcelain”) and china doll, ultimately from the same source.


China

Alternative letter-case form of china: porcelain tableware.

(obsolete) Alternative form of cheyney: woollen stuff; items made or filled with cheyney.

cheyney

Clipping of China rose: various flowers.

(botany, beverages) Clipping of China tea.

(rhyming slang) Alternative form of china: a mate, a friend.

en-noun

China (countable and uncountable, plural Chinas)

China (disambiguation)
Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India
Duarte Barbosa
Garcia de Orta
Marco Polo
The Travels of Marco Polo
Zhengzhang Shangfang
states of ancient China
zh:鄭張尚芳

[ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]